Clos Martinet ‘Els Escurcons’ Garnatxa 2019

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

Named for the Catalan viper, Escurçons is a 1.9 hectare south-west facing vineyard planted by a very young Sara. It’s a massale selection of Garnatxa Negra from the Cims de Porerra vineyard the Perez family is closely involved with. At above 600 metres altitude, it’s grown on orange and yellow schist, which is quite ferrous with oxidised iron and feldspar. Surrounded by Maquis and Holm Oak, the vines are planted on terraces restored more than 100 years after their abandonment post-phylloxera. The full name of the wine is ‘els Escurçons – antigues vinyes de ca l’Olives’. Orientation is south-to-south-west. Fermented in clay, and also aged in clay and demijohns. It is a wine that escapes from the typical structure, strength and rusticity of Priorat in order to offer the lightness, delicacy and maturity of the old wines.

About Mas Martinet

Clos Martinet is the wine of the home estate of Mas Martinet, just above the river as one winds from Falset towards Gratallops.

Clos Martinet, originally owned and run by Josep Lluis Perez, was one of ‘los Closos’, the group which settled in Priorat and worked together from 1989 to re-envision and re-envigorate Priorat wine production.

Nowadays, Josep Lluis’s daughter, Sara Perez is responsible for the day-to-day running of Mas Martinet.

Of their three most important wines:

• ‘Mas Martinet’ is a homage to her father’s era
• ‘Camí Pesseroles’ sums the post-phylloxera Priorat
• ‘Els Escurçons’ re-births the deep history of Priorat’s old ways (pic to right)

… and look out, Sara is hell-bent on expressing her generation’s take on things too (not just more ‘natural’ making (wines made in glass and/or amphorae with extended skin contact play), but historical and regional specifics such as contracting her own bespoke barrels layering staves of cherry, acacia and chesnut wood … and so much more!

We are always looking for new points of view, with a culture based on balance, sustainability and harmony with nature.
We are committed to tradition, to the environment and to people. We recover some varieties and reinvent some processes and materials under the principles of agroecology and minimum intervention with the maximum respect for the people who work on it. We stand up for an ecofeminist and cross-cutting view of the world.

Sara Perez

In the Vineyard

As well as the original farm (the Màs itself in the valley of Riu Siurana halfway from Falset to Gratallops), there are 3 single vineyards (one of which was planted by Sara herself), and in total 22 hectares of organic viticulture. The vineyards are dominated by local varieties, Garnatxa, Garnatxa Peluda and Caranyena. There is also (a reducing) residual of French genetics planted, mainly Syrah, with Merlot and Cabernet, planted from 1990 by Josep Lluis.

In the Winery

All wines use wild yeast fermentations and the estate is moving away from ‘scientific’ winemaking to holistic, natural precepts. Grape varieties are fermented together after de-stemming, although often Sara adds back a portion of Garnatxa stems. Ageing is mainly in foudre, rather than barrique, with some clay used to counter oak. The story of Mas Martinet is that of Priorat’s, in a nutshell. The ‘estate’ wine, Clos Martinet, and the entry single vineyard are a blend of Garnatxa, Caranyena and French gear: pre-phylloxera Priorat, civil war era Priorat and post-1989 renaissance Priorat, respectively. Sara is incredibly focused on respecting each era, and overlaying her generation’s interests too. The quick tell is in the comparison between the ancient vineyard ‘Cami Pesseroles’ and that which Sara massale replanted in 1995, ‘els Escurçons’. Pesseroles perfectly sums the 20th century: planted after phylloxera and the civil war, it is a Caranyena vineyard of great aged character, showing this workhorse variety at its most noble. Escurçons re-births the ancient genetics of pre-phylloxera, deeply historic Priorat planted ‘en costers’ in the highest parts.

Where in the World is Mas Martinet?

Mas Martinet is in Priorat just south of Barcelona in Catalunya off the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It’s long history with wine started almost 1,000 years ago. In modern times it was consigned to producing bulk wines through co-operatives. It’s renaissance, started in the mid-1980’s, with several producers pushing to make quality wines.